Ed Martin’s enthusiastic support for Jan. 6 insurrectionists created bipartisan Senate opposition to his confirmation as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, along with his right-wing extremism and record of ethically and legally dubious abuses of power while serving as interim U.S. Attorney.
After Senate opposition forced President Donald Trump to withdraw Martin’s nomination, Trump rewarded his loyalty with a few titles at the Justice Department, including pardon attorney. News broke this week that Martin is considering recommending a full pardon for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who repeatedly threatened bloody civil war in the weeks leading up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
When Trump issued mass pardons for nearly everyone convicted in the Jan. 16 attacks, he commuted the sentences of Rhodes and more than a dozen other Oath Keepers and Proud Boys convicted of the most serious crimes. Rhodes had been sentenced to 18 years of jail for seditious conspiracy and other charges, but Trump set him free. Rhodes later appeared standing behind Trump at a political rally.
Trump’s commutation got Rhodes out of jail but kept his conviction intact. Now Martin is considering whether to recommend a full pardon for Rhodes and his fellow conspirators.
Here’s a reminder of who Stewart Rhodes is, from a Right Wing Watch post from earlier this year:
Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, had repeatedly threatened bloody civil war to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election. He urged Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act against “domestic traitors.”
On Jan. 6, 2021, the group had stockpiled weapons and stationed a “quick reactionary force” across the river in Virginia. A group of Oath Keepers in a military-style “stack” formation worked their way through the mob and forced their way into the Capitol, with some attacking Capitol Police and others hunting for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. After retreating from the Capitol, Rhodes called someone he believed had access to Trump, urging them to have Trump call on the Oath Keepers and others to fight to keep him in power. That evening, Rhodes sent a message to a Signal chat group saying, “Patriots entering their own Capitol to send a message to the traitors is NOTHING compared to what's coming.”
Rhodes launched Oath Keepers after the election of President Barack Obama. Sam Jackson, author of a book about the Oath Keepers, wrote shortly before the 2020 election that since its founding, the Oath Keepers had “urged its members and supporters to arm themselves and get ready for war.” Right Wing Watch reported in 2017 that Rhodes responded to a church shooting by urging his supporters to prepare for “a wave of left wing terrorism” that could “lead to a full blown civil war.” Back in 2015, Rhodes called for Sen. John McCain to be hanged.
When Rhodes was arrested in 2022, his estranged wife urged the judge not to release him before trial, detailing years of abuse she said Rhodes had inflicted on her and her children. Family members of both the attackers and police officers who were brutalized are reportedly fearful of retaliation from people Trump ordered released and from their supporters. And experts believe Trump’s order could embolden violent extremists.
Since returning to power, Trump has used his pardon power in both ideological and brazenly corrupt ways. He recently issued a pardon to former sheriff Scott Jenkins who had been convicted of conspiracy, fraud, and bribery for awarding campaign donors with appointments as auxiliary deputies. Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison, in March. Right-wing “constitutional sheriff” Richard Mack appeared on far-right talk shows and enlisted the help of MAGA activists Michael Flynn and Ted Nugent to urge Trump to pardon Jenkins.
